Modern European History- Cooke
Name: ____________________
Was a Napoleon a tyrant or a hero? Debate Assignment
Napoleon ruled France for fifteen years. He has inspired strong reactions, both at his time and long
afterwards. Today in class, you will be having a debate to determine if he was a hero or a tyrant. Your class
will be divided into sides, and each side will argue their side.
Your Assigned position:
HERO
TYRANT (Circle one)
In-class preparation
1) As a group, think about: what historical evidence do you have to support your position? Be sure to
reference documents, events, people, etc. Some other questions for you to think about to prepare for the
debate: Did Napoleon do more to preserve the legacy of the French Revolution or to destroy it? Although
Napoleon assumed dictatorial powers, he became First Consul as well as Emperor with the enthusiasm and
approval of the French people. Should this affect how we judge him in the role of "tyrant"? Must we assume
that all conquerors throughout history are villains? When, if ever, can a conqueror be hero? Did Napoleon
conquer others for a higher purpose, or only for his own glory? Should a leader's personal and romantic life
be factored into the assessment of hero or tyrant, and if so why or why not?
2) Begin to brainstorm about what your opening statement will be. What historical evidence do you have to
support your argument? How you can present your argument in engaging way to the other side? When you
are done brainstorming, write your opening statement.
3) Brainstorm questions you can ask the other side during the debate. What might be flaws in their
argument? What might they ask you? Be prepared! Make sure all group members are prepared.
Actual Debate
The in-class debate will be worth 10 points. It will be graded on how often you speak, the quality of your
thoughts, your engagement and your ability to be a contributing member of your group.
Additional Documents Relating to Napoleon
Document A: ​Written by Napoleon, December 31st, 1804
New schools are being opened, and inspectors have been appointed to see that the instruction does not
degenerate into vain and sterile examinations. The lycees and the secondary schools are filling with youth
eager for instruction. The polytechnic school is peopling our arsenals, ports and factories with useful
citizens. Prizes have been established in various branches of science, letters and arts, and in the period of ten
years fixed by his majesty for the award of these prizes there can be no doubt that French genius will
produce works of distinction.
Document B: ​Napoleon Bonaparte, 1802, said this shortly after being appointed Consul (leader) of the French Republic.
Of all our institutions public education is the most important. Everything depends on it, the present and
the future. It is essential to the morals and the political ideas of the next generation. Above all it is essential
to equality. I was not always a ruler. Before I became a ruler, I was a subject, and before that I was a student.
I can never forget how powerfully the sentiment (​feeling) of equality influenced my mind and excited my
heart.
Document C: ​Napoleon's speech to his troops, 1796
...Undoubtedly the greatest obstacles have been overcome; but you still have battles to fight, cities to
capture, rivers to cross. Is there one among you whose courage is abating?...No,...All of you are consumed
with a desire to extend the glory of the French people; all of you long to humiliate those arrogant kings who
dare to contemplate placing us in fetters; all of you desire to dictate a glorious peace, one which will
indemnify the Patire for the immense sacrifices it has made; all of you wish to be able to say with pride as
you return to your villages, "I was with the victorious army of Italy!" Friends, I promise you this conquest;
but there is one condition you must swear to fulfill--to respect the people whom you liberate, to repress the
horrible pillaging committed by the scoundrels incited by our enemies. Otherwise you would not be the
liberators of the people; you would be their scourge; ... Plunders will be shot without mercy; already, several
have been...Peoples of Italy, the French army comes to break your chains; the French people is the friend of
all peoples; approach it with confidence; your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected.
We are waging war as generous enemies, and we wish only to crush the tyrants who enslave you.
Document D: ​Napoleon's diary entry on December 30, 1802
My power proceeds from my reputation, and my reputation from the victories I have won. My power would
fail if I were not to support it with more glory and more victories. Conquest has made me what I am; only
conquest can maintain me. Friendship is only a word; I love nobody; no, not even my brothers. -Document E: ​Napoleon Bonaparte, in a letter to his brother Joseph, who Napoleon had made King of Spain.
I will be master everywhere in France and of everything, as long as I have breath in my body. Your
character is quite different from mine. You like flattering people, and falling in with their ideas. I like
people to please me, and to fall in (​agree) with my ideas. I am master today.
Document F: ​Napoleon, in a conversation with Barry O’Meara in 1817. O’Meara was Napoleon’s doctor on the island of
St. Helena following Napoleon’s final defeat and exile.
“I have always been of the opinion that the sovereignty (​power to rule) should lay with the people. In fact, my
imperial government was a kind of republic. I was called the head (​leader) of it by the voice of the people. My
policy was that careers should be open to talent. No one should get special treatment based on birth or
fortune, and this system of equality is the reason that your English monarchy hates me so much.”
Document G: ​Napoleon Bonaparte, 1804, shortly after being crowned emperor of France
It is said that I love power. Well, does anyone have any cause for complaint? Never have the prisons been
so empty (​crime been so low) and the people so safe. The government is strong, my hand is steady (​stable), and
my enemies are sensible (​smart) enough to know that I shall not slacken the reins (​loosen my grip on France).
Document H: ​Napoleon Bonaparte, December 1812
I have always considered Louis XVI’s death to be a crime, and I thought so before I became a ruler myself.
Since I have worn a crown I have shown clearly enough that I mean to close the door on revolution (​stop it
from happening). The sovereigns (​kings) of Europe are indebted to me for stopping the revolutionary storm
that threatened their thrones.
Document I: ​Napoleonic Catechism, 1806 (Catechisms are doctrinal manuals by the Catholic Church often in the form of
questions followed by answers to be memorized)
Q: What are the duties of Christians with respect to the princes who govern them, and what in particular are
our duties towards Napoleon I, our Emperor?
A: Christians owe to the princes who govern them, and we owe in particular to Napoleon I, our Emperor,
love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service and the tributes laid for the preservation and defense of the
Empire and of his throne; we also owe to him fervent prayers for his safety and the spiritual and temporal
prosperity of the state...
Q: Are there not particular reasons which ought to attach us more strongly to Napoleon I, our Emperor?
A: Yes; for it is he whom God has raised up under difficult circumstances to re-establish the public worship
of the holy religion of our fathers and to be the protector of it. He has restored and preserved public order
by his profound and active wisdom; he defends the state by his powerful arm; he has become the anointed
of the Lord through the consecration which he received from the sovereign pontiff, head of the universal
church.
Q: What ought to be thought of those who may be lacking in their duty towards our Emperor?
A: According to the apostle Saint Paul, they would be resisting the order established by God himself and
would render themselves worthy of eternal damnation. -Document J: ​Napoleon's Imperial Decree at Madrid, December 4, 1808
To date from the publication of the present decree, feudal rights are abolished in Spain.
All personal obligations, all exclusive fishing rights and other rights of similar nature on the coast or on the
rivers and streams, all feudal monopolies of ovens, mills and inns are suppressed. It shall be free to everyone
who shall conform to the laws to develop his industry without restraint.
Document K: ​Count Mole's, a Councilor of State, Minister, and peer of France, remarks on Napoleon, early 19th century.
...The more I saw of him, the more I observed him, the more firmly I was persuaded that, always under the
sway of the moment, he thought of nothing but his own gratification, of magnifying himself and his power
without limit and without rest. Irritated by the least obstacle, sacrificing everything to overcome it, and
seeking only to establish at every juncture that nothing could resist his might and his will, when he had to
choose between present and future he would choose the present, as being more certain and more subject to
his control. In short, he was much less concerned to leave behind him a "race," a dynasty, than a name
which should have no equal and glory, that could not be surpassed.... "The impossible," he said to me one
day, "is a word of purely relative meaning. Every man has his 'impossible,' according to how much or how
little he can do. The impossible," he added with a smile, "is the ghost of the diffident and the refuge of the
fainthearted. On the lips of power, believe me, it is only a declaration of impotence.
Document L: ​Excerpts from the Napoleonic Code
Book I: Of Persons ​Title I: Of the Enjoyment and Privation of Civil Rights
1. The exercise of civil rights is independent of the quality of citizen, which is only acquired and preserved
conformably to the constitutional law.
2. Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights